The good news is that I’m moving forward. Here are the things I’ve accomplished in the past two weeks.
Continue readingFirst Things First
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The Most Important Thing
Credit: Open Clip Art Vector on Pixabay
There’s no doubt in my mind that I’ve made my indie publishing journey more complicated (and more expensive) than it absolutely needs to be. Plenty of people find a premade cover they love, give their book a final proofreading, upload it to Amazon, and voilà! The book is published. Continue reading
Blips and Glitches
The last time I posted, I figured I was well on my way to a triumphant indie launch in early to mid-November. The learning curve was steep, but I was learning. All I needed was to finish the final edit on the book, hire a cover designer, and click through a few more tasks.
And then came Hurricane Isaias. Continue reading
Money, Money, Money
Photo credit: Quince Creative on Pixabay
As my research into indie publishing continues, I’ve come face to face certain less-than-pleasant truths, such as how much it costs to publish a book that looks like . . . well, a real book, as opposed to something I printed on the ancient laser printer in my home office and hawked on Instagram.
Turns out, indie publishing ain’t cheap. Continue reading
What if you fly?
I discovered this lovely artwork last week. Talk about perfect timing!
This gorgeous piece was created by author Meagan Schultz (@meaganschultzwrites on Instagram) and is used with her gracious permission. Thanks, Meagan!
Down the Rabbit Hole of Research
Photo credit: Sincerely Media on Unsplash
The most important thing to know is what you don’t know.
In my case, this includes a wide array of topics. Luckily, I’m a researcher by trade and by nature. This has upsides and downsides.
The upside is obvious: people pay me to research things, which pays my bills. Having the time, experience, and inclination to dig deeply enables my clients to advise their clients of their options and rights. Knowledge is power, or so Sir Francis Bacon is believed to have said. Continue reading
Getting to “Start”
Prelude
All the signs were there.
As a teenager, when I pictured my someday home, I imagined a cottage in the woods. Peaceful and serene, with a typewriter, a piano, and a cat. No children running around; no husband interrupting my concentration. Just me, on my own, writing books. Continue reading
The Luxury of Spontaneity
Photo credit: Chris Galbraith on Unsplash
Once upon a time, I awoke on a Wednesday morning in August. The sun was bright and summer-hot. My workload was summer-light. I called my friend, K, who was also a freelancer, and said, “Let’s go to the beach!”
“When?” she asked reasonably.
“Now,” I replied. Continue reading
How Mount St. Helens Broke My Wine Glass: A Story in Pictures
Once upon a time, there was a lovely glass of inexpensive pinot grigio:
The glass sat next to a statuette made from the ash of Mount St. Helens:
The clumsy person who was drinking the wine tipped the glass over. She reached for it, but not before it knocked against the statuette. At first, it appeared that all was well, but what the drinker didn’t know was that the impact of the fragile glass against the rock-hard statuette was fatal to the wineglass.
Moments later, just as it seemed all was well, the bowl of the wineglass fell off, and the wine poured out the hole in the bottom of the bowl
Moral of the story: if you’re in possession of fragile glassware and rock-hard figurines, there are benefits to drinking white wine rather than red:
Rainbow’s End
Last week, I found the end of the rainbow.
Turns out, it’s in my front garden. At least, it was.
Allow me to explain. Continue reading
P. Jo Anne Burgh 